A/N

So, thanks to YouTube, managed to see the majority of season 1 of Andromeda and a bit of season 2. Not sure what to make of the Spirit of the Abyss, but still, seeing the magog in action was a definite highlight. Anyway, ended up typing up this as a result.

Void of the Abyss

The crew was sleeping.

Rommie had long since stopped wondering what it was like to sleep, let alone dream. It was like an AI navigating the Slipstream – something that wasn't possible, would never be possible, and as a logical artificial intelligence, it was best to just accept that. Yet still, observation was possible – REM in most of the human subjects. Brainwave patterns in Harper that correlated with a nightmare given the levels of adrenalin within him (and after being implanted by magog, she couldn't blame him). Only Bem and Trance seemed to be without dreams, but then again, she wasn't sure if magog even dreamt. And Trance…well, Trance was Trance. Another acceptance of something she would never understand.

Not now at least. Understanding Trance wouldn't dictate the survival of herself and her crew. Understanding the thing at the worldship however…

Bring up files.

Within her data matrix, Rommie saw two images of the thing before her.

That's not a good word.

What is?

Thing?

The…thing, she still called it. "Thing" was a good word, she decidedThing, as in, definition: an entity, object, or creature that is not or cannot be specifically described. And that surmised the glowing creature in a nutshell. Both in the footage of Brandenburg Tor, and of the worldship.

Designation – thing?

Ugh.

In irritation, Rommie deleted a few bytes of data. She watched the powdered matrix collapse in her hands. She wanted to reach out and crush the "thing" like a bug. Not watch the "thing" as it directed the magog in the first image, and confronted her crew in the second. Herself included.

"Was that-"

"A god. Of the magog."

Replay audio file?

Negative.

A god. Of the magog. Bem had said it all.

Yet there was much unsaid as well, so she kept looking. So much was unsaid in this universe. Dylan might have been the exception, stating quite clearly that reforming the Commonwealth had become a necessity, but he was just that – the exception. So she kept looking. Studying.

A god. Right.

Like the Divine?

Maybe?

Rommie drew up more files. Religion was…well, religion. Something she had no need for – she knew who here creators were, she knew what happened when she was deleted, and any other speculation was irrelevant to her own existence. Organics wanted, or needed those answers it seemed, and pulling up a list of every documented religion, faith, or superstition in her database…

6.2 million entries.

Cross reference – god.

Processing…

It was a thin start. But if there was some hint of this creature outside what they'd seen, then maybe they'd stand a chance of defeating it. Or at least understanding it.

God – religious term. Used in monotheistic sense, capitalized, single deity. Used in polytheistic sense, un-capitalized, one of many deities. Please specify.

Do I have to?

Please specify.

Ugh.

Maybe God/gods was/were laughing his/her/its/their head(s) off. Creating the universe as a joke and then waiting to see which species got the guessing game right.

And now I have to play it.

Dark god? No. Too general.

Magog god? Hmm…

No reference found. No known magog deity.

Guess I better update that. Once I find a name for it.

Like?

Rommie wished Harper was there. The man was smart…sort of. To an extent. But intelligence aside, he was organic, and organics had the ability to listen to their gut, or heart, or soul, or whatever term they preferred to use. If she'd known exactly what she was searching for she'd have no problem accessing the relevant data, but right now, it was just a search for anything similar. And something not too generic like "dark god" or "evil god" or something else – there were enough of those kinds of deities already.

Void god?

Rommie considered it. Dark. Void. It made sense to an extent. And "void" was slightly more specific than "dark" or "evil," so maybe…

30,111 entries.

Oh for crying out…fine! Choose first entry – Amon.

It was only first by virtue of alphabetical position. But given the image attached to the file, of red eyes in a dark void, Rommie wondered if deep down in her software she had a "gut" of sorts also. Because right now, it seemed to be on the money.

Amon. Non-god. Species: Xel'naga. Era: Pre-Commonwealth period.

Not a god then? Then why's he even listed?

She performed a quick query, going back to the original definition of a god. Monotheistic, polytheistic…branching out a bit and-

Godlike. Adjective. Being with extraordinary powers. May be called a god by virtue of power disparity.

That's nice to know. So, what happened to this-

File corrupted. No data.

Rommie swore.

The reboot, it had to be. Unless some deity (or deities) really did exist and was toying around with her. Harper's stunt (and admittedly, her own, she reflected) must have damaged some of her files.

More to go through though.

Or not. Maybe it's a dead end…

On one hand, Rommie knew it wasn't – there was plenty of data to shift through, and she didn't have any shortage of time to go through it. On the other, maybe it wasn't worth pursuing. God. Gods. Godlike. If terms for such beings varied, then it stood to reason that the definitions did as well. Smiling, she pulled up the image of the dark creature again. A god to the magog. A godlike being to her crew. A piece of data right before you.

Who cares if you're a god or not? Long as we stop you. Then I can add you to my database as I see fit.

Clicking her hands, the images disappeared. With the loss of the creature, all that remained was the golden glow of her matrix.

Well…let there be light then.

And in it, Rommie felt good.

And that she could rest.